Response To An Evangelical Pastor

We are sharing our sister organization's (“Abraham’s Shield”) response to a comment left on the Abraham's Shield Facebook page by Pastor Anthony Abma, the CEO of Return O’ Israel. Return O' Israel is a partner organization with the Jewish headed “First Fruits: Building Israel’s Heartland" organization. For some time now, we have been warning Abma's many Jewish associates about his long career as a missionary, and of his many statements that betray a missionizing agenda. In response, we have been libeled and slandered by many of them and accused of making things up, despite an extraordinary amount of evidence.

Pastor Abma is attempting to refute our assertions regarding his evangelical agenda. Please refer to and read Abma’s comment to give full context to our response. *Unlike so many others, we are never afraid to show both sides of arguments, out of confidence that we have the correct position.

Slideshow on Anthony Abma, by Abraham's Shield:

Slideshow exposing Abma's true beliefs.

  Attention Anthony Abma:

We will only address and respond to those explanations/comments which we believe capture the fundamental problems with your life’s work and overall ideology. These points reflect critical themes that require serious attention.

Point #1: Anthony, your incorrect reading of the Prophets refers to those who call out in Hashem’s Name, & not to those who call out in the name of another. It truly will be a “House for all Nations”! But exclusively for those nations who call out in the name of the One and Only Hashem. Most importantly, it will not be available to those who spiritually preyed upon Jews prior to the building of the Temple, whether out of love or otherwise. You missed the most essential point!

Point #2: You completely dodged the evangelical issue. Understandable because you can’t really answer that honestly without completely rejecting an evangelical doctrine that wouldn’t go well with your peers back home. Of course, you can always prove us wrong & unequivocally reject all forms of evangelism in this very post! And don’t try to use “restoration” with us. We understand the true theological meaning of that term, and we will expect a full explanation of that as well. 

Point #3: What do you mean by full or complete spiritual restoration? Don’t just give a vague answer about “the land” since we both know that your beliefs go well beyond that. Please give a complete theological response because theology drives you. We both know that an honest answer will require that you first renounce all forms of evangelism, all such communities, denominations, & churches, and an immediate severance on your part of any remaining connections. That’s always an option. But that’s also not sufficient.

Reasonable Jews would still have concerns that you aren’t just taking a page out of Paul’s theological playbook and wearing a mask, but it would be a start. Naturally, it can’t happen overnight and you would be required to go through a lengthy period of publicly rejecting evangelism in any form, and constant reiterations of your newfound principles in speeches, articles, lectures, etc. It will take time to earn the trust of any sensible Jew.

Point #4: As far as citing the “Abraham Accords” as supposed proof of the possibilities of change among the nations and their relations with Jews (as so many “right-wing” Jews have done), we have as much confidence in them as we did with Oslo. We see it as a complete farce forged by flawed (and worse) men. The difference with Oslo is that on the surface these accords don’t require outright territorial concession. Yet by not annexing all liberated areas, it accomplishes the same thing because spineless leaders will now view it as even more verboten than it was previously, out of fear of damaging relations with our new “friends”.

***Please don’t get side-tracked about your support for Jewish sovereignty with “Return O’ Israel”, because it all falls within the same category of understanding the theological agendas of evangelicals. We do not perceive the spiritual enemy to be a friend against a physical one.

Arming nations that we believe to be unworthy of trust is not a victory despite the contrived exclamations of false peace, forged solely for economic interests. Quite the opposite! Without belaboring the point we do not support it. We do not see it as a miracle but one of folly. It represents nothing in reality, as seen by the continued hostility of the UAE & others in the United Nations.

In any event, to the extent that one is a committed evangelical with theological intentions (nefarious from the Jewish perspective regardless of the “loving” intent of the messenger) he is not a friend of ours and he must be opposed; regardless of past historical occurrences or contributions with known non-Jewish supporters. Finally, to the extent that a Jew would have been aware of any evangelical efforts on the part of such personalities, he would have been required to oppose them regardless of their merits. But the issue is moot. You sir, are no Windgate or Patterson.

Point #5: God sends messengers and G-d sends false messengers. He sends blessings and he also sends plagues. And the spiritual threat masquerading as a friend is in the latter category and he is to be vociferously opposed.

Point #6: The nature of the contemporary “realization” by many Christians regarding the flawed tactics of the past,  that is precisely why smart evangelicals use relational evangelism today. It is the reason relational evangelicals put conversion on the backburner. To build relationships and further the sexier end-goals that can never be accomplished without trying something less overt and provocative. One of the main end goals for all evangelicals (including those who embrace relational tactics) and realize past “mistakes” is to spiritually “restore” Jews, is it not?

Point #7: What you call a Bible teacher is what is commonly-known in your line of work as missionary work. You were a missionary and the evidence suggests that you are still one, albeit more seasoned and clever from experience. No doubt, in your head and heart you conceive of your work as fueled by what you believe to be righteous. It is certainly not Hashem’s Will or you would be disseminating the Seven Laws of Noah. Trying to convert Hindus to your faith might be preferable to what they are currently worshipping (albeit still falling true of their true mandate), but if you’ve converted Muslims you’ve done a disservice to them theologically since their monotheism (if little else), while obviously flawed in its overall essence and tenets is nevertheless a purer monotheism as it relates to Hashem’s Oneness then the one you offer.

You were a career missionary and we do not trust you. Every shred of evidence screams out that you are still one. Writing for the kinds of religious Jewish publications that you cite proves nothing. We are aware of those articles and have personally read them. These media outlets and personalities are part of the problem. They are in bed with evangelicals for many years for reasons apparent to all intelligent principled Jews, hence the many “Torah” schools for the Nations, evangelical volunteerism, Tour companies, etc. It doesn’t impress committed Jews that other Jews have publicly faltered on matters that affect the Jewish collective. Many religious Jews are outraged by their behaviors.

Point #8: We will not engage in a discussion about the individual Jews that you aligned with and cited in your response. How you personally feel about them is irrelevant to us. Their problematic associations are of grave importance and they are unprecedented in history. Such individuals are fundamentally flawed in their belief systems and actions because they do not understand (or care to) evangelical theology and intention.

 All evangelical intentions, whether with fire and brimstone, or loving smiles and contrived “brotherhood” are harmful. Most egregious of all, such individuals have consistently ignored the warnings from counter-missionary experts who understand the evangelical playbook.

 We can go on all day. Stop playing word games. They do not impress us. It’s really simple, and every true evangelical will confirm this: Evangelicals evangelize! If they no longer believe in evangelizing, then they are no longer evangelical by definition.

There are fundamental beliefs to Judaism and one may claim to be a believer of Hashem. But if he retains a diametrically opposed fundamental belief relating to Hashem, he can call himself a believer in Hashem & Torah but his actions and beliefs would indicate otherwise. An evangelical who doesn’t evangelize or even more, opposes evangelism really isn’t much of an evangelical, is he? He may call himself one but he is only distorting the classical meaning. We are not concerned with these people because they are not to be taken seriously. They are obviously not evangelical, or they are lying and using the doctrine of Paul to be all things to all people.

Now for some specific questions:

• What is your belief regarding "the Rapture"?
• What is your belief about the 144,000? 
• What about the period of the tribulation? 
• What happens at the end of the tribulation? 
• What do you mean by the full spiritual restoration of the Jews?

 We are asking for comprehensive responses since we both know that these are serious theological concepts for you, and only complete fully fleshed out answers are of any worth. It isn’t a lengthy article that we require, it is the quality that we are interested in. So kindly forget about forming a clever long-worded exercise in diversion, which will be apparent to us. We are asking for complete answers which articulate a full rendering of your theology.

 We await your response. Good day.

Donny Fuchs Moshe Schwartz

Cofounders of “Abraham’s Shield” & “StopHayovel”